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Not
just
lilies
There is a name that has been synonymous
with lillies for almost 70 years. But there is more
to Lilyfields than its namesake flower.
WORDS GILLIAN VINE
Photos LILYFIELDS
As restrictions around the
coronavirus pandemic eased
slightly in May, David and Wendy
Millichamp were working nonstop
packing and dispatching
lily bulbs from their Lilyfields
nursery at Mount Somers.
Like other nurseries around
New Zealand, they were dealing
with a flood of orders and
couldn’t have been happier.
Part of the reason for
gardeners’ enthusiasm, he feels,
is how well suited lilies are for
every region.
Proof of lilies’ popularity is
the long history of the business,
which has been part of the
New Zealand nursery scene for
almost 70 years.
LOOKING BACK
In the early 1950s, the late
Len Tuffery was operating
Dunhampton Lily Fields in
New Plymouth. By the mid-
1970s Stuart and Maidie
McIntosh, with the Thomases,
had taken over the nursery and
were followed by Noeline and
Gerald Keast.
In the 1980s, the Keasts
moved the business to Mt
Somers, in inland mid-
Canterbury, after purchasing
bulbs from the McIntoshes
and obtaining North American
Lilybulbs also.
Asked why they would have
made such a momentous
decision, David summed it up in
one word: “Soil.”
“We have good soil and don’t
irrigate, as we get nice rain
off the hills,” he adds. And
chilly winters help ensure
healthy bulbs.
David’s parents, John and
Paddy Millichamp, bought
Dunhampton Lily Fields in 1989,
handing over to David and
Wendy in 1995. The name was
shortened to Lilyfields and is
well-known to lily lovers around
the country.
MOST POPULAR
“In my parents’ days, I remember
paddocks of Lilium regale,
Christmas lilies,” David says.
They are still Lilyfields’ most
popular bulb, with an average
of 10,000 sold each year. In
addition, he and Wendy offer
other lilies, chosen for their
strong, vigorous growth and
good colour range.
The majority are scented, as
IMAGE Gillian Vine
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